Gold Coast United goalkeeper Scott Higgins has been bought in as a replacement for Wellington Phoenix's injury woes. Number one custodian Mark Paston has badly bruised ribs from a clash in last weekend's match against Adelaide United and is expected to miss up to four weeks.

Higgins, who signed with the new A-League franchise recently, will come as a back-up for current Phoenix number two Glen Moss who will be elevated to the starting line-up.

Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata said Higgins was a great choice for the club because he already has A-League experience with Queensland Roar and Adelaide.

"We actually had a number of goalkeepers who contacted us after learning about the status of Mark and his injury but we settled on Scott. He's a proven performer, he's played with several players already in our squad and he was thrilled to come here," said Pignata.

The club did however consider Mark Bosnich.

"We spoke with Mark but ultimately he felt it would be better for him to remain training in Sydney rather than coming over here and potentially not playing. We couldn't guarantee him the starting keeper's spot - Glen is our number one now - and Mark would have only been here as a backup."